Hope Springs Eternal
by Mahler Avatar
Summary: My submission for AmericanGecko's Minor Characters Contest, featuring Hope, a lovesick member of the Middleton High Cheer Squad, plus one of Wade's more infamous inventions. Rated T for, well, cheerleaders. Oneshot.


_Here's my submission for AmericanGecko's 2011 Minor Characters Story Contest. It appears that I'm not the only one that decided to include a member of our favorite high school cheer squad, and I look forward to reading everyone's submissions now that I've posted my own whacked little sitch. May the best writer win!_

_Standard disclaimers apply: KP and Co. are owned by Disney. But the Power of Imagination continues to belong to each of us in the Kimmunity._

_And leave a review, I promise a reply._

I.

"Tara! Wait up!"

Hope Wong, one of the eight members of Middleton High's outstanding cheer squad, ran up to her teammate and closest friend.

"So, what do you think about Bonnie as our temporary squad captain?"

Hope knew that Tara was one of the oldest squad members, so her opinion carried a little more weight with the others.

"Well, I'm not sure what to think about Bonnie until after our first practice with her today. I just think it's too bad that Kim's going to be gone for two whole weeks, especially with the Regionals coming up. Something about a juicy globule."

Hope coked an eyebrow. "Uh, I think that's _Global Justice_, Tara. That weird spy organization she deals with every once in awhile?"

"Oh, yeah!" Tara gave a small shrug as she continued, "Well, anyway, I really don't have a strong opinion one way or the other. She'll be fine I guess."

Tara didn't like being backed into a corner, and when she was, she invariably waffled.

"I kinda like Kim more as a person, and as our team captain she's always had our best interests at heart. But with all her missions lately, she's been missing some practices. On the other hand, Bonnie's always acting like, well, her royal highnessness, but she leads well and has some good ideas every once in awhile. That is, whenever she's not snarking on Kim."

She finished with a giggle, "Or whining about her on-again off-again relationship with Brick Flagg."

Hope dropped her head and lowered her voice, a sure tip-off to Tara that something was amiss. "Actually, I was kind of hoping it was off again. With the Senior Ball coming up, most of the hotties are already taken, and I, uh …"

Her voice trailed off as Tara's eyes widened in surprise at Hope's implication. "Get out of here! You're crushing on _Brick?_ Man, if Bonnie finds out, you're dead meat, and you know it. What happened to Dave, the hockey team captain?"

Hope scuffed one shoe against the other. Usually quiet and reserved except when cheerleading, she had never found it easy to discuss extremely personal matters, even with Tara. "We kind of broke up yesterday. He didn't like the fact that our hockey team doesn't have cheerleaders, and that I was always busy with our own squad when _he_ had a game."

Tara huffed, "Men. You can't live with them, and you can't kill 'em."

Hope raised a questioning eyebrow at Tara's mixed metaphor before continuing, "Yeah, easy for _you_ to say. You've got that beau hunk Jason Morgan."

Just then, Jessica and the captain of the baseball team, Steve Foley, walked by arm in arm.

The perky blond looked up at him with a knowing look and whispered, "See you tonight."

As she gave him a deep parting kiss, Hope looked on with a mixture of jealousy and sadness. As he walked off, Jessica joined her teammates as they all made their way to cheer practice.

Always bubbly in her attitude, she cheerfully asked, "Hey, how're you two doin'?"

Tara smiled and said, "Oh, I'm fine, but Hope here is …"

Hope gave Tara a quick poke to the ribs which abruptly stopped her short.

"I'm fine too, Jessica," she easily replied, but not before giving Tara a withering look.

As they approached the gym, Hope fell back into a deep funk as she silently continued to pine away over Brick. She thought to herself, "Maybe it's just Reboundville on my part, but I've really fallen hard for Brick. I'd do _anything_ to get him. The Queen B doesn't appreciate him _nearly_ as much as I could. There's _got _to be some way to get him to notice me …"

The wheels inside her mind continued to turn as she suddenly recalled one of Kim Possible's latest adventures, and a certain device that was simply made to order for her needs. A device that would solve all her problems in one fell swoop. A devilish smile broke out on her face.

"_Yeah, that just might work …" _

II.

"All right, _losers_, not bad if you were just freshmen with no cheerleading experience at all, but we've got a game to cheer for tonight! And don't forget that Regionals are coming up, ladies! I'm sure not going to let _my _hard-earned reputation get dissed, so you girls better shape up quick!"

"Reputation for _what_, Bonnie?" Kim gave her a sly look from the stands. She had been watching from the sidelines to observe exactly how Bonnie handled herself as the team captain before leaving on her special training mission with GJ.

"No comments from the peanut gallery, Kim! This is _my_ team for the next two weeks, so butt out!"

As Bonnie continued her rant, Ron Stoppable appeared right behind her, imitating every snarky move and hair flip she made. The cheer squad began giggling, much to Bonnie's consternation.

"Hey, what's with all the laughing? This ain't no stand-up comedy routine I'm doing here!"

As Bonnie placed one hand on her hip and wagged her finger at the tittering cheerleaders, Ron did likewise. The squad was in stitches as Ron continued to mirror each of her movements and facial expressions. Kim had to put her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from bursting out laughing, her eyes tearing up at the hilarious sight.

Finally realizing something was amiss, Bonnie quickly pivoted around, only to catch Ron staring at the gym's ceiling while whistling a non-nondescript tune.

Failing to catch him in the act, but still suspecting something was amiss, she growled, "What are _you_ doing here, _loser?_"

He smiled back with a grin, "Oh, just waiting for Kim, that's all."

She gave him another suspicious look before turning back to her charges. "Okay, everyone back her at 7. The game with the Lowerton Lemurs starts at 8. So don't be late!"

The cheer squad continued to giggle as they all left the gym to shower and change. Kim walked up to Ron with a pleased look on her face.

"Good one, Ron, but that was cutting it a bit close, don't you think? If she had caught you, I have a feeling you'd be safer between a mother bear and her cubs."

Ron grinned back, "Just giving in to my essential Ronness, ah booyah."

Kim gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Just don't get caught, okay? I'd hate to have to get medieval on Bonnie's butt if she tried anything, even if your little mime act _was_ a little provokish."

Hope had lingered behind, preparing to take the first step in her new plan. She hesitantly walked up to Kim and greeted her. "Hey, Kim."

"Hey, Hope. What's up?"

She smiled shyly at the couple. "Uh, good practice, and thanks for looking out for us. But I hope you'll be back soon. You've got a much more positive attitude than Bonnie could ever have."

Kim gave a small shrug. "Yeah, probably. But she's in charge at the moment. Just not for long, please and thank you."

She offhandedly agreed, "Yeah, I hope so. Oh, by the way, could you give me the number of your computer geek friend? There's something I wanted to ask him about, since he's, uh, such a super genius. There's a particularly hard, er, _science_ question I'm having a problem with."

Hope was glad that the practice had been especially strenuous, as she had just started to break out in a sweat again due to her little subterfuge. She wasn't used to being devious like this, but she was determined to win Brick's heart no matter what the cost.

"Sure, Hope. Right after we change." Kim turned to Ron and smiled. "See you in a few minutes. Then maybe we can stop by BN for a snack?"

"Sure thing, KP."

But as the two cheerleaders turned to go, Ron got the strange feeling that something wasn't quite right.

He gave a casual shrug. "Eh, probably just my power of imagination …"

III.

The phone rang at the Load household, and Wade's mom answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Load. This is Hope, one of Kim's friends? Is Wade there by any chance?"

She chuckled, "When is he _not_ here? Wade hardly ever leaves his room except for a soda refill, or to spend some time with his new flame, Olivia."

Hope's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she squealed, "Wade has a girlfriend? How _sweet!_"

"Yes, I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you all about her. They've been on Cloud Nine for nearly two months now. She's a super genius too, so it's a match made in Mensa heaven. Just a second and I'll get him."

She put the phone down and yelled, "Wade! Phone for you!"

Wade called back, "Got it, thanks!"

He picked up the extension. "Hello?"

"Hi Wade. It's Hope, on Kim's cheerleading squad?"

"Oh, sure! How are you?"

"I'm all right I guess. I wanted to ask you for kind of a big favor. Remember a few months ago when that Junior Senior guy tried to get all the girls in Middleton to like him and his singing by using that love ray you invented?"

Wade blanched. "Whoa, that's classified info! How did you find out about that?"

Hope rolled her eyes. "Well, besides the fact that I was _there_ at the concert, I overheard Kim talking to Ron about it."

Wade muttered, "Uh, yeah. So, why do you ask?"

Hope took a deep breath and breathed a silent prayer before blurting out, "Do you still have it and could I, uh, borrow it for a little while?"

Wade's jaw dropped open in surprise. "Sorry, Hope, but I promised Kim I'd never use it again. I've already dismantled it."

Hope's hope rapidly began to fade.

"As you probably know, it fell into the wrong hands and nearly caused some serious damage. Besides, its effect was only temporary, and it only had a limited range."

He chuckled as he recalled Olivia's similar invention, which she had actually designed and created herself independently of him. "On the other hand, my girlfriend's Cupid Ray worked a lot better, considering we're still dating."

His face broke out in a wide smile as he breathed a deep sigh. "But she really doesn't need to use it on me any more, since I already know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I like her a lot. In fact, we're going to our first Mensa mixer tonight!"

He stroked his chin in thought. "At least, I don't _think_ she needs to use it any more, but I really wouldn't care even if she did. I just love my Sweetie Peach!"

Hope's hope began to rise once again as her mood brightened at the good news. Not so much because of Wade's continued romance, but due to the existence of another love ray. She played along nevertheless.

Hope gushed, "Ooh, I didn't know you had a GF, Wade! I'm so happy for you!"

"Yeah, her name's Olivia. Olivia Kronschnabel. She's just so … _dreamy_." His eyes began to glaze over.

He perked up a bit as he added, "And, she's _almost_ as smart as I am!"

Hope broke out in a sly smile. "Yeah, I don't think _anyone's_ as smart as _you_, Wade. Kim talks about you almost as much as she does about Ron. Well, thanks anyway, and nice talking with you. Good luck with Olivia."

She quickly began to hang up.

Wade sputtered, "But wait, you didn't tell me …"

_Click._

"… why you wanted my Cupid Ray?"

He merely sighed as he resumed gazing at his computer's screensaver, a picture of Olivia. He still wasn't sure when he'd actually truly fallen for her. Was it when he realized how beautiful her dark brown hair and green eyes were? Or had it been the way her freckles moved when she smiled? And those braces certainly didn't detract from her appearance, so far as he was concerned. They'd be coming off next year anyway.

"Well, back to work. I almost have that space-time continuum problem worked out. Olivia will be so proud of me!"

By now, he had long forgotten about the always-on connection between his computer and Olivia's, as softly gleaming electronic hearts emanating from her own Cupid Device continued to bathe the lovesick genius in its rays. Nor would he really have cared, even if he _had_ noticed.

Meanwhile, across town, another lovesick teenager's desperate plans continued to unfold. The cheerleader's fingers quickly punched a few numbers into her cell phone.

"Hello, Information? May I have the number for Olivia Kronschnabel?"

IV.

Hope walked up the steps of the Kronschnabel residence and eagerly rang the doorbell. She was immensely pleased that she and Olivia had hit it off so well, especially when they found that they shared the same dislike for a certain temporary cheer squad leader. They had giggled together in conspiratorial glee as they both realized just how much Bonnie's last name sounded like Rottweiler, which ironically suited her temperament quite well.

Olivia opened the door and invited her in. With a slight lisp due to her braces, Olivia said, "So nice to meet you, Hope! I have what you need in my room."

Hope stepped into Olivia's room and was amazed at all the electronic gear, display screens and blinking lights. "Wow, this is just like being on a star cruiser in _Space Passage!_"

Olivia beamed, "Yup, one of my favorite shows. And Wade's, too!" She sighed dreamily as she thought of her one true love, and the Mensa mixer they'd be attending that evening.

"Okay, here it is."

She pulled out the device, shaped like a gun but with a large heart at the end of the barrel. "This is my mobile model. It's got a remote wireless connection to my main unit, right here."

She patted the large electronic unit, embroidered all over with tiny hearts. "All you have to do is point it at your target … uh, your _sweetie_, and shoot. I've improved the effect's endurance a bit over my original model, so one dose oughta last the evening. But if the effect starts to fade, simply fire it again. Just don't let it out of your sight. I wouldn't want it falling into the wrong hands, like Wade's did."

Hope was beside herself with excitement as she turned the device of her dreams over in her hands. "I can't thank you enough, Olivia. I promise to return it safe and sound."

Olivia nodded and said, "No problem, Hope. Oh, one more thing. Remember to keep the power setting on Low. I'm trying to improve the effect's endurance, but I haven't worked all the bugs out yet. Well, I better start getting ready for my big date tonight."

She flashed a sly smile at Hope. "And good luck with yours."

Hope bowed her head slightly in thanks and quickly left. As she drove back home, she tried to figure out the best timing for its use that evening.

"Okay, if I wait until after the game, Brick might be surrounded by all of his fans if we win, not to mention Bonnie."

She snorted with laughter. "IF we win? Hey, it's the Lowerton Lemurs we're up against, so it should be no contest. And with _me_ as his inspiration, he might even break the Middleton High rushing record tonight!"

She grinned with a hint of evil joy as she thought of her ex-boyfriend. "And Dave will be _so_ jellin.' But he had his chance…"

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes, anticipating her fondest dream come true. But this was poor timing for her inattention, as the traffic light ahead suddenly turned red. She sailed through the intersection, car horns blaring in warning. Her eyes shot open and she swerved violently out of the way of an oncoming car, narrowly avoiding a collision.

Breathing heavily after her close call, she whispered a quick prayer of thanks. "I better keep my mind in the game, just like Kim always says. It wouldn't be too good if I got in a wreck before I had a chance to use this thing. That would really spoil everything."

She continued to carefully drive home, unaware that the Cupid Ray had been accidentally knocked onto the floor, its controls now set on maximum.

V.

It was 6:45 PM, and Hope lay in wait for Brick, hiding in a dark alcove astride the hallway to both the boys and girls locker rooms. She had already changed into her cheerleading outfit, vigilantly waiting for her romantic target to appear.

The hallway door opened, but instead of Brick, the other seven members of the cheer squad entered. They were all laughing and joking, eagerly anticipating the expected walkover of the opposing team that evening. All except for Bonnie and Kim, who carefully ignored the other, their long-standing competitiveness still obvious to everyone.

Hope squeezed herself up against the inside of the alcove and held her breath as they all passed by, but her luck held and she wasn't spotted. She let out her breath in relief, focusing back on the hallway door as she continued her romantic stakeout.

She didn't have long to wait. Just then, Brick walked in, smiling with confidence as he too looked forward to the big game. Her heart skipped a beat as soon as she saw him. Hidden beneath the jacket in her hand, she gripped the Cupid Ray tightly. Unsuspecting, he rapidly approached her hiding place.

"Just a few more seconds …"

Suddenly, Bonnie spotted him and waved to him from the other end of the hall. "Hey, Bricky-poo! Good luck tonight!" She turned and began to walk back to him, hoping to plant one more wet kiss on her boyfriend's lips before changing into her cheerleader outfit.

Hope momentarily froze, but quickly steeled herself for action as Bonnie approached.

She gritted her teeth. "It's now or never."

Hope stepped out of the alcove and flashed her most disarming smile at the unsuspecting quarterback.

"Hey, Brick."

"Hey, Hope. Good luck tonight."

"You too, handsome."

Bonnie growled, "Hey, you! Keep away from my …"

But before she could say another word, Hope fired the Cupid Ray, bathing Brick with its heart-shaped emanations. He immediately smiled back at Hope, the lovelight in his eyes confirming that the device had indeed worked. Hope's body tingled with anticipation as she gazed back at him with her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.

Suddenly looking like a love-sick puppy, Brick stammered, "Hey, how about us getting together after the game, Hope? We could, uh, get something to eat, and, uh, _talk_ …"

Hope excitedly responded, "Sounds great, Brick!"

Infuriated by Brick's sudden infatuation with Hope, Bonnie immediately snarked, "Over my _dead body!"_

The Cupid Ray's work complete, Hope released the device's trigger, but it failed to shut off. Even worse, with its setting accidentally on full strength, the device's artificial intelligence determined that it needed additional power and immediately began seeking a new energy source. Ironically, the power couplings for the playing field's floodlights were located directly behind the wall where they were standing.

Hope began to panic. "Hey, what's with this thing?"

She dropped the device as a sphere of deep red energy began to form. The glow intensified as the sphere increased in size, continuing to expand until the entire hallway was enveloped in its radiance. With no place to run, the sphere first enveloped Bonnie, then Kim, and finally all the other members of the Middleton High Cheer Squad.

The effect was immediate. They all turned as one towards Middleton High's star quarterback with a collective look of undying devotion on their faces. Brick froze in fear as he looked back at them all with sudden apprehension. The intense desire and attraction they suddenly felt for him quickly erupted into a massive display of unbridled affection, as they all cried out, "_Brick! Brick!"_

Kim merely giggled and said to Bonnie, "Jinx, you owe me a soda!" before swooning over the new love of her life, Brick Flagg. Bonnie's eyebrows shot up in horror as she saw Kim hopelessly staring at her brand-new object of affection.

Kim sighed heavily, "Isn't he just a dream come true?"

Bonnie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Kim, have you lost your _mind?_ Brick's MINE! What about that loser, Stoppable?"

Kim airily answered, "Oh, he's _so_ yesterday's news, Bonnie. And you're right, he _is_ a loser. So I think it's about time that I … _traded up_."

Kim shot her a very dangerous look. "Just like you suggested to me last fall, _B_."

However, everyone else on the cheer squad had just gotten the same idea, and began to rush Brick. He felt like an opposing football team had just called a Red Dog play as the swarm of cheerleaders tried to blitz him. He did the only thing he could think of. He ran away as fast as possible, with Hope right behind him.

As he swiftly rounded the corner, he looked back at Hope and gasped, "Hey, what's with the girls all of a sudden? Don't they realize you're the only one for me?"

Hope sighed with pleasure at Brick's profession of love, but realized that the cheer squad would catch up with them any second.

"Quick, in here!"

She grabbed Brick and quickly pulled him into the janitor's closet. Breathing heavily in the near darkness, she wrapped her arms around him, looking up at him with hooded eyes.

"We're safe here for the moment." She whispered seductively,"Now, where were we?"

Out in the hall, it was now a free-for-all, with all seven cheerleaders jostling for position in their desperate attempt to locate Brick.

"Outta my way, Jessica!"

Tara shouldered her way past her teamate, only to have her hair grabbed by Liz as she was pulled to the floor.

"Not so fast, blondie!"

Right next to her, Marcella lashed out with a scissors kick, knocking Crystal's legs out from under her. "In yo' face, you hussie!"

Soon the whole squad was on the floor, yelling and screaming as they scratched and clawed each other in their no-holds-barred battle over Brick. Tufts of torn-out hair soon littered the hallway as the battle royal continued unabated.

However, two of the cheerleaders ignored the main fracas as they faced off to one side. Their eyes locked, burning in pure hatred for the other.

With the cool calculation borne of her many fights with Shego, Kim cautiously began circling Bonnie.

She softly growled, "Well, _Bon-Bon_. Looks like the gloves are finally off."

Bonnie sneered back, "Oh yeah? If you think I'm going to give Brick up without a fight, you've got something _else_ coming, Kim!"

Kim crouched down in a defensive stance and returned her adversary's glare with a dangerous grin of her own.

Gesturing with cupped fingers, Ninja-style, she smoothly purred, "Come and get me, B. I'm right here."

Tired of being egged on by her adversary and finally pushed beyond all reason, Bonnie rushed at Kim with a terrific yell.

With a quick, fluid motion, Kim simply sidestepped Bonnie's charge just as a matador would. She easily grabbed the hapless cheerleader, using her momentum to throw her against the wall with a terrific crash. Bonnie was knocked out cold, her face squeaking down the side of the wall as she collapsed into a heap on the floor.

Kim brushed her hands off and smirked, "Just like I expected she would. _Amateur_. Who's the loser _now, _Bonnie_?"_

As the incredible catfight continued, Kim merely stepped over the wrestling cheerleaders as she began searching for the elusive couple. "Okay, Hope. You're next. Brick is _mine_ …"

Meanwhile, the Cupid Ray continued to pulse brightly on the floor where Hope had dropped it. Its glow increased in intensity as he drew more and more power, finally reaching its maximum design limit. Unfortunately, once this threshold was reached, an electronic feedback loop began. With its wireless connection to Olivia's device back home, her room likewise began to glow ominously. But with Olivia now at the Mensa mixer with Wade, there was no one home to stop it. Even worse, the always-on connection with Wade's home computer system likewise began to feed back upon itself. Two huge spheres began forming in both locations, the ruby red shock waves expanding outward at incredible speed. Soon, all of Middleton had been enveloped in the ubiquitous glow of the Cupid Ray.

VI.

Dr. Anne Possible stepped in the front door after a very long day at the hospital. She was exhausted after performing five brain surgeries that day, a record even for her. She smiled as she looked forward to a nice, quiet evening at home with her husband, James.

She called out, "Honey? I'm home."

From the garage James answered, "I'm just cleaning up in here, dear. Jim and Tim decided to experiment with a new power source for the dryer, which is now in low geosynchronous orbit over Middleton. Ah, those crazy kids. Say, what's for dinner?"

In his mind's eye he envisioned a nice pot roast or a juicy rack of lamb. Anything but their usual …

"James, I'm exhausted. Could we just get our usual Chinese tonight for delivery?"

He heaved a small sigh of disappointment, but acquiesced to his ever-faithful wife's request. He screwed up his face into a small smile and cheerfully replied, "Of course, honey. Your wish is my command!"

At that moment, the Cupid Ray struck, enveloping the Possible household with a bright flash. Anne suddenly had a dramatic change of heart.

She excitedly announced, "Actually, let's go to the football game at Kim's school instead. We're playing the Lowerton Lemurs tonight, and I understand that Brick Flagg is our quarterback!"

James walked into the kitchen, concerned with Anne's abrupt change of both mood and plans.

She gushed, "Wow, he's _such_ a hottie. I'm surprised Kim hasn't made a play for that huge hunk of delicious man. Come to think of it, if I weren't already married, I'd …"

James just stared back at her with a look of total shock on his face.

In total innocence, Anne asked, "What is it, dear?"

James tried to stutter out a reply, but his jaw only worked wordlessly as he tried to think of how to respond to her bizarre comment. Finally he mumbled, "Uh, er, what about dinner?"

She gave him an impatient look. "We could grab some hot dogs there, James."

Her eyes narrowed as she continued with a slightly crooked smile. "Besides, just thinking about Brick whets my appetite, if you know what I mean."

The look on her face left no doubt in his mind about what she was referring to. Now even deeper in shock, he barely managed to choke out, "Sorry. I've, uh, suddenly lost my appetite."

Anxious to leave, she irritably shot back, "Oh, just fix your own dinner then. There's some leftover haggis in the fridge from last week's hospital potluck you can warm up. Well, I'm off to the game. Don't wait up!"

James simply stared back in disbelief as she rushed out the door and quickly drove away.

As he watched her car roar off into the distance, he had a vision of placing Brick Flagg in low geosynchronous orbit over Lowerton, followed by a one-way trip into the nearest Black Hole.

VII.

At that same moment, in his secret lair at the edge of town, Dr. Drakken was again blathering on about his latest take-over-the world scheme.

"Shego, I _really_ have this one figured out this time. By my precise calculations, it has a 97.725 percent chance of success!"

Shego just yawned in response, "Oh yeah? I'd give it a 100% chance …"

Drakken's face brightened in view of her apparent compliment.

"… of total, abject and humiliating failure."

He could only manage a deflated look in response to her inevitable reply. But before he had a chance to think of a snappy comeback, Shego pressed on with her snarking.

"C'mon, Dr. D! You have a perfect, unbroken record of zero for, what? Five hundred?"

Shego continued with a sarcastic grin. "Why mess with such … perfection?"

She snorted derisively as she resumed filing her claws. Testing their sharpness by scratching the surface of the table, she smiled at the result.

Drakken petulantly replied, "Enough with your lip, Shego. One day I'll succeed, and then you'll be whistling Dixon."

Shego shot him a questioning look.

He tentatively offered, "Uh, Pixie?"

Shego simply shook her head back and forth.

Finally losing all patience, he blurted out, "You'll be whistling a different tune! _There!_"

He continued with a smirk of his own. "Oh, and by the way, the damage you've just done to that table will be coming out of your next paycheck."

Shego had already lost interest in his verbal banter and had begun perusing the latest _Henchwoman's Monthly _magazine. Casually flipping to the next page, she replied, "Oh really? Which paycheck is that? The one for back pay you owe me for last month, or the one for the month before that?"

Finally admitting defeat, he grumbled, "Nngghh. Never mind."

Suddenly, the Cupid Ray hit, bathing the lair in its intense red glow.

The look on Shego's face suddenly changed from one of abject indifference to intense desire, as she suddenly began fantasizing about a certain high school football player.

She thought to herself, _"Mmm, what a hunk. And all of those delicious muscles remind me of Midas. But Midas is still in Greece, and Brick is here in Middleton. Right now, at this very moment …" _

She licked her lips in anticipation. _"Hmm, maybe I can give him a little of my own golden touch, with just a splash of green …"_

Noting the sudden dramatic change in her demeanor, Drakken cautiously asked, "Shego? Are you all right?"

Ignoring his question, she made a quick check on her computer for the next scheduled Middleton High football game. Smiling with pleasure at the answer, she rushed for the door and abruptly announced, "Later, Dr. D. I'm late for a football game."

Drakken barked, "Wait a minute! Today's not your day off, that's not until tomorrow!"

But the only thing he heard in reply was the door slamming and the sound of the air car starting up.

Drakken fumed to no one in particular, "Now what? Was it something I said?"

As his shoulders slumped in dejection, he moaned, "I'll never understand women. Especially the green ones …"

VIII.

Coach Barkin was fuming. The Middleton High Mad Dogs were getting ready for the big game, but their star quarterback was nowhere to be found.

"Where in blue blazes is Brick Flagg? Doesn't he realize the kickoff is in thirty minutes?"

He turned on the PA system and grabbed the microphone, his voice booming out across the stadium. "Brick Flagg, report to the changing room, _immediately!_"

Meanwhile, in a secluded janitor's closet, Hope slowly disengaged from Brick's warm embrace. "Well, that was _quite_ a kiss. I can see why Bonnie's so possessive."

He smugly replied, "Yeah, but Bonnie never gave me a kiss like _that_ before."

Brick was glad that it was dark in the closet, afraid that Hope might see the goofy look that must have been all over his face, just like Hope's lipstick now was.

Hope grinned with pleasure as she toyed with his hair. "Yeah? Well there's a lot more where _that_ came from, you handsome hunk, but it'll just have to wait until after the game, won't it?"

Brick sighed, "Yeah, but that just means I have something to look forward to. And you can't beat motivation like _that_ for scoring big in tonight's game!"

Hope began to consider the possibility of doing a little scoring herself with Brick a little later, when suddenly Mr. Barkin's stentorian voice was heard booming from the stadium.

Hope moaned, "Well, I guess we better go, sweetie. Can't keep the fans waiting, you know."

She opened the closet door, only to come face to face with a fiery redhead with a disposition to match.

Kim growled, "Hello, _Hope_."

IX.

The crowd's excitement had built to a fever pitch in anticipation of the big game that was about to start.

The cheer squad usually provided the audience with a pre-game show to rally the team, but this evening they were nowhere to be found. Ron Stoppable tried to single-handedly pick up the slack by going all out with his Mad Dog mascot routine, complete with copious amounts of mouth foam.

At that moment, Anne Possible roared into the parking lot, grabbing the last available space before jumping out of the car and dashing for the entrance to the stadium.

Shego arrived in her air car at the nearly the same time, but was just a moment too late to grab that choice space. She angrily yelled out, "Hey! That was _my_ spot!"

But Anne was already practically inside and failed to hear Shego's rant.

"Urrrgh!" Shego flipped open the weapons panel and armed the laser cannon, disintegrating the Possible's car with a terrific flash. She gently set the air car down on what little remained of the vehicle.

Shego grinned, "There. _Much_ better. Brick, baby, here I come!"

Inside the stadium, Coach Barkin was nearly beside himself with anger as he tried to make some last minute changes to the team's playbook, when all of a sudden Brick Flagg came running up like he was being pursued by the devil himself.

Mr. Barkin roared, "Flagg! Where in the heck have you been? You should have been here over …"

But Brick Flagg continued to race right past him, followed closely by Hope Wong.

"… an hour ago." Puzzled, he scratched his head. The reason for their haste was immediately apparent.

Barkin exclaimed, "Holy cheese and crackers!"

Kim Possible raced by, looking like the devil herself. She was followed closely by the Middleton High Cheer Squad. With their scratches, mussed hair and torn clothing, they looked rather more like an army platoon that had just lost a major engagement.

Brick and Hope then raced by Ron, who immediately halted his antics. "Hey! Where have you guys been?"

Hope called back, "Sorry, Ronnie! In kind of a hurry!"

As Kim approached, he called out to her as well.

"KP! What's going on?"

She also passed him without stopping, yelling over her shoulder, "No time, Ron! I've got to kick some cheerleader butt for stealing my Bricky-poo away from me!"

Both of Ron's eyebrows shot sky high as he almost fell over backwards in shock.

"Hey! I thought _I _was your Bricky-poo! I mean Ronnie-poo! Uh, that is to say …"

His voice faded off to nearly nothing as he sadly hung his head down in defeat. "I just _knew_ this would happen someday. This is _so_ sick and wrong …"

The cheer squad then staggered past him, still battling each other while simultaneously pining over Brick, each declaring their undying love for the quarterback.

Ron quickly sunk even deeper into a deep blue funk. "Man, some dudes have _all_ the luck."

Anne Possible then ran by, crying out, "Brick! Wait for me, honey!"

Ron's jaw dropped straight down in shock. "Whoa! Mrs. Dr. P, too? That's just totally wrongsick!"

Bringing up the rear was none other than Shego, firing off a few plasma volleys in a vain attempt to slow the others down.

"Hey, Brickster! Come back here, you hottie! Your Green Goddess is right here!"

Ron began jumping up and down, stomping the ground in frustration. "Oh, come on! _Cut it out!_ That's just plain gorchy!"

Just then, a stampede of several hundred other women nearly ran him over, every last one clearly enamored of the hapless quarterback.

Ron petulantly muttered, "That's it. I'm going home."

X.

Kim finally caught up with Hope and Brick, panting heavily as they tried to leave the stadium by the west gate. "Hold it right there, you two! Hope, step _away_ from the Brickster and no one gets hurt!"

Hope looked hopefully up at Brick, who returned her smile and said, "Don't worry, babe. I've dealt with this Possible chick before when she had a crush on me. It'll be all right."

Hope smiled even wider. "Thanks, Brick. I love you so much. Just be careful. She _really_ scares me."

But just as Kim was about to advance on the couple, a large plasma blast churned up the dirt directly in front of her.

"Hold it right there, Possible!"

Kim spun around and came face to face with her arch-enemy, now barely ten feet away.

"Shego! How _dare_ you show your face on this hallowed ground! This is _my_ stadium, and I won't have you sully it with your evil presence."

Shego's smile widened into an evil grin. "Ooh, Kimmie, such big words for such a self-righteous little rah-rah like you. Oh, and I'm not here for the game, by the way. I'm here for _Brick_. So just step aside and we can both be on our merry little way."

Kim's eyes flared with anger as she dropped into a fighting stance. "No way, Shego! Brick is _mine_. You'll have to get through me _first_."

Shego responded with a deep-throated laugh. "With pleasure, Kimmie. You _really_ think you can stop me? Our battles before usually have just been over Drakken's stupid little plots to take over the world. But this time, it's over a _man_."

Her face darkened in a way Kim had never seen before. "I've got _motivation_ now, Kimmie. I want Brick. _Bad_. And I'm not going to let you or anybody else get in my way, or there'll be hell to pay, I promise!"

Kim nearly flinched, but dared not show any weakness at this critical moment. This might be it. The final battle.

She grit her teeth and spat out, "Oh, yeah? Over my dead body, Shego!"

Shego fired up both hands in a mighty whoosh of supercharged plasma. Her green eyes glowed with almost demonic intensity.

"Just what I had in mind, _Princess_. I've been waiting a _long time_ for this …"

With a yell, they simultaneously charged the other, each other's arms raised to strike the final, deadly blow.

Hope sobbed and closed her eyes. "This is all my fault. Oh, I can't bear to watch this …"

But before the two titans could even lay a hand on the other, they were both roughly snatched up by their collars. Now hanging helplessly in mid-air, Anne Possible gave them both a good shake.

"Stop it _this instant_, you two! You both ought to be _ashamed_ of yourselves, fighting in public like this! And with all of Middleton watching? What were you _thinking?_ And all over a _boy?_ How many times have I told you both, you've _got_ to learn how to share!"

Kim groused, "Sorry, Mom."

Shego also chimed in with an apology. "Sorry, Aunt Anne."

Anne gave a sharp nod of her head. "Good. Now both of you march home right now. And _both_ of you are grounded until James' sister gets back from her vacation."

Kim griped, "Aw, Mom!"

"Don't 'Aw, Mom' _me_ young lady. Home. NOW!"

As the young heroine and the villainess began to trudge home, Shego whispered to Kim, "I woulda won, ya know."

Kim hissed back, "No way. _I _woulda won."

Shego countered, "No, _I_ woulda won …"

They continued their banter back and forth as they both walked off into the distance.

XI.

Meanwhile, James Possible had arrived at the stadium, deeply concerned over Anne's sudden fixation on Brick Flagg. He spotted Ron sadly trudging along. "Ron, are you okay?"

Ron whined, "Not by a bon-diggety long shot, Mr. Dr. P! Suddenly the entire female population of Middleton has the hots for Brick Flagg!"

Monique then ran by, panting heavily. "Brick, baby! Wait up for your lil' Monique! I've got some brown sugah for my honey bunny!"

Now it was James' turn to nearly dislocate his jaw in amazement.

Ron gave a small shrug. "See what I mean?"

James frowned and turned to Ron, every word that he now spoke imbued with fierce determination.

"We've got to rescue our womenfolk, Ron. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to put a stop to it once and for all, or else I promise you there's going to be a deep space probe with Brick Flagg's name on it! Are you with me, Ron?"

Ron angrily slammed one fist into his other palm. "Right with you, Mr. Dr. P! Let's do it!"

A huge crowd of men then appeared, apparently bent on exactly the same mission. Armed with sticks, pitchforks and torches, they stopped as soon as they saw the highly respected rocket scientist.

James turned to the crowd and announced, "Everyone follow me! Tonight we fight for the women we love, and for Middleton! _FREEE-DOMMM!"_

The mob fiercely yelled in approval, storming into the stadium's west gate in search of Brick.

Just then, Wade and Olivia entered by the east gate, also desperately seeking both Hope and Brick. They had just been alerted to the Cupid Ray emergency by their automatic computer monitors, and hoped that there was still time to prevent an escalation of the disaster. They spotted Hope and Brick on the grandstand and immediately rushed up to them.

Olivia breathlessly asked, "Hope, what happened? I told you to keep the Cupid Ray's setting on Low!"

Hope wailed, "I'm sorry, Olivia! I really don't know what happened. I swear I didn't touch the controls!"

They were immediately surrounded by a huge crowd, made up of an angry mob of men bent on tar and feathering Brick, and sea of lovesick females each bent on making Brick their very own. And at the center of the storm stood Hope, caught right in the middle.

Hope turned to her erstwhile paramour and sobbed, "I'm sorry, Brick! I just wanted you to love me. I didn't mean for all this to happen!"

Brick was dumbfounded. "You mean this is all _your_ fault, Hope? Man, that changes everything."

Wade grabbed the microphone and began speaking to the crowd. "Listen to me everybody! Brick is the innocent one here. Hope Wong used a Cupid Ray, which accidentally caused the entire problem. We can fix it, but it might take a while."

James Possible yelled back, "Just how long are we talking, Wade? We want our women back, _now!_" All the men roared their approval.

Anne Possible then grabbed the microphone and defiantly declared, "And we all want Brick!"

The massive throng of women began chanting, "_We want Brick! We want Brick!"_

Anne raised her hand for silence. "But one person stands in our way, the person responsible for this entire mess!"

She glared at the now frightened cheerleader desperately hanging onto Brick for protection.

"Hope Wong!"

The crowd began to turn ugly. And they weren't that good looking to begin with.

Hope desperately turned to Brick. "Help me, Brick! Please!"

He sadly shook his head as he turned away. "Sorry, Hope. You're on your own."

James yelled out, "Yeah, it's all her fault! Everybody, _get her!"_

Both sides now united, the angry crowd swarmed onto the grandstand intent on grabbing the hapless Hope. As they all reached for her, Hope screamed.

She was still screaming as she bolted upright up in her bed, her body bathed in a cold sweat. She fearfully looked around her bedroom, but all was quiet.

Still breathing heavily, she mumbled, "It was only a dream. Just a dream …"

She tried to calm down herself down as she glanced at her alarm clock.

"4:00 AM. Wow, that was scary. But it all seemed so real …"

She began to recall the events of her bizarre reverie.

"But totally bogus. Brick broke up with Bonnie last fall after he finally graduated from high school, and Bonnie's dating that Senior Junior guy now. Ron's the star of the football team now that he's stepped up from being that silly Mad Dog mascot. And Kim is so tight with Ron, I don't think _any_ kind of Cupid Ray could dent _that_ relationship. But Kim and Shego, _cousins?_ Hah, that's a good one. The girl who saves the world on a regular basis and her evil nemesis who tries to take it _over_ on a regular basis? Yeah, right."

She considered the possibility for a moment. "Hmm. But that _would_ explain a lot …"

Hope breathed a small sigh as she pondered the root cause of her dream. "But Dave still broke up with me, and I still miss Brick."

Resigning herself to the reality of her present situation, she muttered, "Oh well, tomorrow's another day."

Her nightmare finally fading away into the recesses of her mind, Hope turned over and soon fell peacefully back to sleep.

XII.

A liitle later that morning, Wade's phone rang. He was still asleep after his wonderful date with Olivia the night before. They had been the center of attention at the Mensa mixer, and had announced a forthcoming joint paper on the effects of the Cupid Ray. Exhausted but happy, he decided to let his answering machine pick up the call.

_"Hi, this is Wade. I'm not able to answer your call right now, so leave me a message after the beep."_

_Beep._

"Uh, hi Wade. This is, uh, Brick Flagg. Ya know, the star quarterback for six out of my eight years at Middleton High? Say, I was really bummed at first about having to break up with Bonnie last year, but now I realize it was really for the best. And looking back now, well, I've decided that there's really only one girl for me. But, dude, like, she's still at Middleton High. Her name's Hope Wong, and I think she's still a cheerleader there. But I don't think she even knows I exist, which is a real bummer, man. But I kinda came up with an idea after I heard about that Cupid Ray thing you sorta invented a few months ago, and I was wondering if, uh, I could kinda borrow it for a little while?"

_**Finis**_


End file.
